A New Fruit: Chinola

In all honesty, Chinola is not really a new fruit to me. But, I thought it might be a new fruit for some of you, at least in its raw, fruit form. I'm guessing many of you have had chinola in juice.


Chinolas come in different colors and sizes...do you recognize it yet?


Chinola is the Dominican word for passion fruit. I ate passion fruit a lot in Kenya, but I have mostly had chinola juice here in the D.R. I was a little surprised when I cut into the fruit and none of the center fruit was lavender. In Kenya, the passion fruit is lavender grey (not an attractive description, I know) in color.

Passion fruit does have an interesting texture because of the little seeds in their little sacks. When you eat a passion fruit, you eat all of the inner seedy juicy part. The seeds are not hard or crunchy.

I was only able to purchase a sack of chinolas, but it worked out great since Wil wanted to make chinola tea when he came home sick with a cold.

BONUS RECIPE: CHINOLA TEA

Wil prepared this tea when he was sick. Then he refreshed it a few days later when I was illin.

Ingredients:

1 medium to large chinola
1 medium lime
2 cinnamon sticks
pinch of salt
1 quart water
sugar to taste

Cut the chinola into eighths, including the rind. Cut the lime the same way. Place in the water on the stove. Add cinnamon sticks and salt. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 15-20 minutes. Add some sugar just before you serve the tea.

Wil likes to sometimes add other things to the tea, including orange and other leaves if they are available. And, sometimes he squeezes more lime juice into the hot tea after it is boiled as he is serving the tea.


The power went out just as Wil started cutting the fruit into the pan on the stove. A little power outage didn't stop Wil from making the tea or me from taking photos!








I actually took this picture the next day. I loved that it matched the cloth we have on our little phone table.

Empanada of the Day! So close...

This picture may look familiar. I used it in one of the first empanada posts to show a typical empanada stand. It is at the corner of our block.

I have tried to get an empanada there a few times but they seem to be out a lot and then one day I didn't want the flavor that they had available. This stand seems to be open in the morning. They do not fry more empanadas later in the day. I finally decided that I was going to go there in the morning and get whatever they had.


The only empanada available was an egg empanada. Interesting...I had seen egg empanadas at the other empanada stands but hadn't really thought about eating one.


As I said, I went there in the late morning, so I decided to consider the egg empanada as a late breakfast. Once I wrapped my brain around it like that, it was a good breakfast. It was warm and had a crispy crust. The egg(s) had a good flavor. This empanada is in the reasonable price range at 25 pesos (67 cents).

All in all, I would say that I am willing to have another empanada huevo!

Empanada of the Day! Back to Tutto's!

Yes, Tutto´s is definitely one of my favorite finds in the city. And, it is close to our apartment!


My new standard Tutto´s sign picture!


I knew that I was going to like the Tutto empanada before I even tasted it. That opinion was not based on how much I enjoy their eggrolls, by the way. I knew because each empanada that I have tasted there has been fried to order. It takes a little longer, but it is worth the wait.

I ordered the salsa pizza empanada, mostly to compare to the other salsa pizza empanadas that I have tried.


Wow! Hello, look at that beautiful, heart-clogging gooey lump of queso. Seriously, that is a good melt on the cheese! And it was delicious. The sauce tasted like pizza sauce! It is in the medium to high price range at 40 pesos (About $1.10), but it was a tasty empanada!

Empanada of the Day! Berenjena in Miches...

I love berenjena (eggplant) and I finally learned to spell it correctly a couple of weeks ago in Miches. I saw a cookbook with 50 ways to prepare berenjena at the book fair. It was only 50 pesos; I totally should have purchased that book. Anyway, I was telling Wil about it later that day and he got excited and told me about a berenjena empanada in Miches. I was curious. I asked him what else was in the empanada. He said there was cheese. I asked if it was white or yellow cheese. He said he thought it was white and that he didn't even think that one tasted the cheese because the berenjena was so delicious.

The night before E and I left Miches, when we were hanging out with K, the Columbia U. intern, the berenjena empanada came up in conversation. K, too, got excited and said, "yeah, I go there almost everyday." So, we made a date to go there on our way to the beach the next morning.

It was around this time that I got the idea to create this blog section, but I was not quite on my game yet. I apologize for not taking a picture of the cute little empanada house tucked in a courtyard off of a street in Miches. The kitchen window faces the courtyard and one just has to look in to see the assembly line as the workers (family members, I think) prepare the empanadas. The door to the house serves as the concession area. There was a young man taking the money and yelling back the orders to the kitchen just inside the doorway.


Here is the berenjena empanada. I also did not take a photo of the inside of the empanada. I think Wil and K were correct in their assessment that the berenjena is delicious in this empanada. It is seasoned to a savory and salty finish. My problem with this empanada was the cheese, yellow cheese. I'm not sure what kind of cheese it was, but it was not my thing. I was thankful that the empanada was fresh out of the fryer however, as it would have been worse if the cheese had been cooled and gelled. I ate the empanada, don't get me wrong. But I would have enjoyed the berenjena by itself.

This empanada was the least expensive empanada that I've had here at only 15 pesos (45 cents), so I would definitely go back and check out some of their other flavor choices. As with most of the little empanada places, this shop had many juices to choose from as well. Wil had the jugo de avena (oatmeal juice), and it was one of the most delicious juices (if one can even call this sweet treat a juice) that I have ever had. It tasted like some kind of spice cake or cookie in a liquid form, but even better than that!!!

A New Fruit: Granadillo

I had never heard of a granadillo until the other night when Welks ordered a granadillo jugo (juice). I wanted to know what a granadillo was since I knew I was going to be making posts for A New Fruit. Wil tried to describe the fruit to me. His first description was, "I think you call it a grapefruit." I thought that sounded interesting. Once we saw Welks' juice, we knew that it was not grapefruit. He was thinking of some other fruit...

I tasted a little of her juice; it was pretty good. Not nearly as good as the mango juice I was enjoying, but pretty good.

Last week, I saw granadillos in the grocery store. I chose one, not knowing for what I should be smelling or looking. I chose one that was not too soft or too firm. I could not really distinguish much of a smell from any of the choices.


Here was my granadillo. It had some marks on it; again I thought that gave it character.


I sliced through the granadillo. Inside, it had seeds that were larger, but very similar to some passion fruit that I have had in the past. When I looked it up online, I accidentally typed in granadilla first and came up with passion fruit! So just one letter off. Hmmm, I wonder if they are in the same family. Granadilla is not the name for passion fruit here in The D.R., but it is in some Spanish speaking countries.


Another view of the granadillo.


I know it looks kind of strange, but I was intrigued by the little individual seed pockets.


And it was interesting to me how the little sacks were attached inside the fruit. They reminded me of the suction cups on the bottom of an octopus arm.

When I purchased the granadillo, I was not sure if it was a tree fruit or a vine fruit. I'm always fascinated when objects this large grow on trees! I found out later that it is, in fact, a tree fruit.

The fruit has a slight spicy smell when sliced. But, I could not tell what spice. The meat has a mild melon flavor and has a honeydew look, but even whiter. It was not very sweet. As I chewed the fruit, the juice created was buttery, almost buttery flavored. I wondered what it would be like to cook a granadillo and spice it up. I could see it taking on savory flavors or sweet spices. The fresh granadillo fruit was just okay to me. I am interested to check out cooking one up though!

I Am Fine and Enjoying Miches

Hello All!

I´m fine and in Miches. I have not had internet access until today. Enjoying being with Wil in Miches. We have had three days of rain, and it is only supposed to continue. I haven´t made it to the beach yet, but maybe tomorrow.

More later...maybe from the U.S.!

Empanada of the Day! Is that an Eggroll?

One day I was walking in search of a container for my small trash bags. We have no designated area to put our trash, so I just find a barrel on the sidewalk somewhere that has space for my bag, walk by it nonchalantly and toss my bag in. Then I go farther down the block to find a different barrel if I have another bag. I'm sneaky like that. Anyway, on that particular day, I varied my route a bit and came across a cute little walk-up window empanada shop.


It's called Tutto: Empanadas y Mas (empanadas and more), and it is adorable. I love the red and white stripes, I love their sign graphic, I love it all! The day that I stumbled upon it, I walked up to get a closer look. They had several trays of fried treats under the display case. I said, "Es eso un eggroll?" The worker said yes. I knew that I had to try one, or two. I ordered two and walked home to wash my hands and taste the eggrolls. They were so good. Of course, part of that may have been that I hadn't had an eggroll in months, but I still say they were tasty on their own merits. And, at 25 pesos each(about 67 cents) they are not a bad deal.

I have been to Tutto for other treats (they will be in later posts), but I keep returning for their eggrolls.


When I took this photo I was on my way to the grocery store and planned to eat the eggrolls as I walked (street food). In this case, it really turned out to be street food, since I took the picture in the street (no, it was on the sidewalk, really).


The eggroll has cabbage and carrots and a nice seasoning. The wrapper is excellent! And, of course, fried to perfection. All in all, I say this is one good empanada, err eggroll! Remember at the beginning of this empanada adventure when I talked about empanadas in some form or another being in almost every culture? I say an eggroll is one more example of that.

A New Fruit: Guayaba (Guava to You)

I must admit, I have tasted a guayaba before the other day. But, I didn't realize that until I cut into it. And, I have only had it once before with Wil.

Anyway, when I wrote that it is guava to you in the title, you may be expecting a pinkish reddish fruit. But this one is different.


This is also sometimes called the apple guava, you can see why. It is related to, but different than the strawberry guava, the one I am more familiar with, at least in wonderful juice form in The States.

I chose one that was ridged and bumpy because I thought it had character. The first thing that I noticed about this guayaba was the smell. It has a bright, citrusy fragrance, even before you cut the fruit. The peel is similar to a pear, and apparently in several non-Spanish speaking countries it is referred to as a pera, the Spanish word for pear (can we say colonization?).


To me, it also tasted very pearlike with some apple thrown in for fun. It is not citrusy tasting to me. It has a wonderful crisp tartness to it. I enjoyed this fruit quite a lot. I actually ate the whole fruit, which I'm a little ashamed to admit I have not done with several of the other "new fruits."


Though I chopped through a lot of the seeds, I saved some and am considering being a bit of a "Joel fre Guayabaseed" (Johnny Appleseed). The apple guava (my guayaba) are allegedly cold tolerant to fairly cold temperatures, and I know a little gardener with a greenhouse who likes to experiment with unusual seeds. "Oh my gosh, customs official, there are seeds in the bottom of my socks in my suitcase. Oh, how gross! I knew I shouldh't have walked around in them on that beach!" If I bat my eyelashes, do you think that will work? What would my excuse be for the zapote seeds?? HA!

It's a Rap--of Kennyisms That Is!

Here are a few Kennyisms to end his tour of The D.R. And I say goodbye, Kenny.

Please remember, Kenny has no memory or social skills...


Here's a cool Kenny. Even with mullet hair, a dark beard, George Michael's wardrobe, and "Danger Zone," still so much cooler than our Kenny.

Kenny asked Ivan, "what do you miss about Oregon?" Wil and I were in the other room and Wil says to me, "the only thing that I miss about Oregon is the people." I'm pretty sure Ivan wasn't even able to answer before Kenny answered his own question. Kenny, "well I know what I miss. I miss the organization and that transportation is so easy for everyone in Oregon to get around." Okay, so really you just wanted to spout off about your love for Oregon and tried to ask someone else a question to illicit some responses? Ugh...

Kenny was as red as a cooked lobster. He is normally not as fair as me, but definitely light brown hair and fairly light skin tone...I asked, knowing the answer already, "did you wear sunscreen?" Kenny, "oh no I haven't at all in two weeks. you would think my skin would be used to it." (Is that how it works, Kenny?? Really??) I mentioned that I still wear sunscreen almost every day that I am here. And, Kenny, with all seriousness and sincerity, "It was only 2 hours in the boat." (on the water, no wonder dude...)

Ivan and Kenny were talking politics; I was listening. Ivan, "so do you think the Republicans will take back the stuff in this election?" Kenny, "I don't know. I hope not the regular ones. They are just like the Democrats. I hope it is the ones that actually want to follow the Constitution." Kenny rambled about something for a moment. Ivan, "so you would like to go back to other Republicans?" Kenny, "Yes, back to when they followed the Constitution." I thought maybe he would say Reagan or something, but no, here's Kenny's idea, "I would like to go back to the way things were before I was born (1965)." I truly didn't know how far out of the mainstream he was in his thinking. Wow, I'm so glad he lives in Portland and is surrounded by a lot of liberals.

I was lucky at the wedding, in that I really didn't have to spend much time with Kenny. I made myself busy helping Wil sometimes and also sat across the table from where I thought Kenny would sit. It worked for the most part. But, there were a couple of interactions.

Wil's parents arrived while our table was going through the food line. I left the line with just rice on my plate to go and greet them. After the greetings, they were then in line in front of me. Kenny was just in front of me, behind them by about 1 1/2 feet. Kenny, "Well, now how the heck did you end up with just rice on your plate and in line again?" Yes, he does sound like he has an accent sometimes when he speaks. I should also note that he watched me leave the line and was next to me when we were talking with Wil's parents. I thought it was just the long-term memory, but apparently the short-term is shot as well. I said, "I went over to see Wil's parents."

Interjection again, Kenny and I have talked about me being at Wil's parent's house, where it is located, and how long it takes to get there in Santo Domingo.

Kenny, "oh, so was this the first time you have met them?" Me (so disappointed in Kenny by this point), "uh, no, sorry I wanted to greet them when they came in. I have met them many times and been at their house." Kenny, "did they come all the way from the campo today?" Me, "no, they live here in Santo Domingo, just far north in a suburb." Kenny, "well, this is Wil's step-mom right, not his real mom?" I was so shocked that I continued the conversation rather than just walking away. They were right next to him, even if they don't speak English. It was just rude. But, I felt like I needed to clarify, before he told other people his memories. I said, "these are his parents, both of them." Kenny, "but this is his step-mom, cuz I thought his dad was with someone else." To end it, I said, "These are his parents, they are together now." I said it pretty curtly and I think he finally got the message.

Like I wrote at the beginning of this post, I don't have too many Kennyisms for this post. I am fortunate in that. Sorry for you not getting as much funny Kenny, though.

Here is the last one of the wedding night and the last time I saw Kenny. A bunch of people were outside visiting after the wedding site was cleaned. Kenny had just arrived back at the site after chaffeuring some people. Kenny decided to speak to me. I am not sure why he chose to do that. Kenny, "how much did you make tonight?" Please remember that it was the end of a long, hot day. I was about to go home and get sick for a week. I said, "What?" No, I did not say pardon or excuse me. Oblivious Kenny, "well, it looked like you and Wil were working pretty hard. It was like you guys were running the show." I said, "I was just trying to help out." Kenny, still completely and utterly oblivious, "well, probably didn't make much then, huh." I said, "no, that's not why we did it." Then I think I turned to some other people who were speaking near me. I know it wasn't very nice. But I was so done with him. Maybe he was trying to be funny, or just make conversation, but I was done with it.



Adios, Kenny! I hope you are enjoying being back in Oregon, where you know that everything is "normal" and great.

Just My Almost Every Day Walk

I can't remember if I ever posted many photos of the main street that is near our apartment, Avenida 27th de Febrero. If I have, then look no further, but if not, then look on and be amazed for the first time. Okay, not really amazed, that was just for drama!

This is the street that I walk on at least 2 or 3 days a week, usually to get to the grocery store or mall. They are about a mile away. I also take this street and then another to get to the Mailboxes, Etc. That is almost 2 miles.

I chose to take some pictures from the pedestrian bridge that goes over Avenida 27th de Febrero. There are a few pedestrian crossings along the way.


The first three are looking toward the grocery store.




You can see that in some parts of the street there are tunnels. These are like 'express lanes.' If you get into a car that is going down (meaning in the tunnel), you won't have to stop every 5 seconds trying to pick up more passengers.


This photo is looking back toward our apartment area.

This has been our brief photo tour of Avenida 27th de Febrero. I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm Falling Apart as the Apartment Gets a Facelift

Once the actual owner of the apartment got informed about my flooding plight, she has tried to help. And, I do appreciate it. I appreciate it a little less when I am sick.

On Tuesday morning (to me, noon is morning when I am sick), the owner knocked and asked to come in. I invited her in. She brought a worker with her. We looked around. I again explained where the water had appeared originally and more recently. She explained that they were going to repair it above.

Yesterday morning (it really was morning), I woke to the sound of some sort of hammering and cement junks falling down into and through the window slats of the window to nowhere in our bedroom. I tried to close the window, but the slats don't work. I got ready for the day and went to go see Wil's parents. That was the third time that I have missed his mom. Total bummer, but I guess I will just get to see her on the weekend with Wil.

When I returned to the apartment, I found a mess in the bedroom. And, the landlady was waiting to see the work. She came in with me and looked around. She explained that they had blocked off the air between the two buildings up above and that they were going to put a new window in our closet so we could have fresh air. Sounded good, except for the fact that I'm sure breathing concrete dust is not the best thing for me. She told me they were going to do it today.

This morning at about 9 there was a knock on the door and the worker was ready to demolish and rebuild. I was fine with that. I had as many things moved or covered as possible.


This is the body of clothes. All of our hanging clothes are on the day bed covered with a sheet. It looks a bit like a body.


More of our belongings in another part of the main room.


I stayed out of the way while he removed the old window to nowhere. The cement blocks are the neighboring building's wall.


I couldn't remove everything from the bedroom, so I covered the TV and some other odds and ends.


Here is the worker knocking the hole in the wall for the new window. Are we going to lose closet space? ugh!


The concrete bucket as sentry in the new window hole.


While some of the concrete dried on the new window hole, the worker sealed up the old window with concrete blocks.


And then more concrete.


And, after working most of the day, he put the new window in its place.

So, what was I doing whilst all of this was going on, you may ask? I was lounging in the main room. Unfortunately, today was the first day this week when we didn't have power for several hours in the middle of the day. But, I rested some. I'm still quite tired and fatigued if I do much of anything. It is getting better each day though.

Empanada of the Day! A Baked Empanada--How Fancy!

Several weeks ago while running an errand for Kathy, I came across a cute little bakery that is only a few blocks away from me. I literally began smelling the fresh bread about 2 blocks before I saw the bakery. It is in a direction that I had not walked before, so it was an exciting find!


It is called Pon Pan. On my first trip I ordered a little baked roll-up thing that had good crispy cheese on its edges, a raised donut (the first I had seen in The D.R. that looked like a raised donut), and a cup of some wonderful custardy concoction.


Precious little Pon Pan!


Apparently, they also have Pon Billar (pool/billiards). I guess they are trying to attract multiple groups of clientele, nice marketing folks.

Of course, I have made several return trips to Pon Pan. I have tasted their rolls and French bread, a pineapple and a strawberry juice (both were so sweet and wonderful), a decadent tres leches (three milk or creams actually) pudding (it's a layer of custard, a layer of thickened cream, and topped with whipped cream), and another raised donut (this time with icing instead of just sugared).

One day I went with the intention of ordering another of the roll-up things (sorry I can't think of a proper name for them, like a croissant roll-up with ham and cheese), but happened to see their empanadas displayed in a perfect mountain of flaky dough in the display case. I ordered one.


And, it was a little bit of heaven. This is a baked chicken empanada at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.


You can see how incredibly flaky the crust is on this empanada. It is also buttery and melts in your mouth. The empanada has a good amount of filling that is quite tasty. The chicken is shredded and seasoned simply with salt and black pepper. There doesn't seem to be much black pepper used in Dominican cuisine, so I definitely tasted, and enjoyed it in this empanada. I didn't realize I had been missing it until I tasted this.

This is not technically street food since there is not a cart or walk-up window involved, but it is still an empanada. It is more expensive than any other empanada I've tried at 50 pesos (about $1.30) so Wil would have a fit if I bought one in front of him. But, in this price range, it is the best empanada I've tasted. In fact, in any price range.

A New Fruit: Zapote

Zapote is spelled with a Z in The Dominican Republic but with an S in some other Spanish speaking countries. I'm not sure why.

I truly had no idea what to expect when I bought this one in the supermarket the other day.


The zapote has a brown peel similar in color to a kiwi fruit. The texture was reminiscent of a cantaloupe.


When I cut the fruit open, it was a beautiful surprise. The photos are much more vibrant in Picasa, but on here they are muted. The pinky orange was amazing. Orange is my favorite color, so I was immediately enamored. It reminded me of a Gauguin painting.


Ahhh, Gauguin...


There were two wonderful dark colored woodlike pits. I thought of a shiny horse chestnut when I sliced the fruit open.

About now, you may be asking yourself, "but what did the zapote taste like, Joel??" I'm getting there, be patient. For me, the look of this fruit was definitely better than the taste. I will describe what it tasted like to me before I write what it tastes like to others according to some online research (by me, surfing the web, not real research data about taste trends).

The taste was mild and not too sweet. It had some sort of melon flavor and a cherry flavor as well. The texture was smooth and soft in the mouth. Though it seemed like a tree fruit, I wondered if it was some sort of a melon or squash relative.

When I looked online, I found that the taste has been described as everything from caramel, chocolate, or pumpkin to a combination of sweet potato, avocado and honey! I guess no one can decide what it tastes like.

When I asked Wil if he liked zapote, he said, "not really. We don't eat them, we use them in juice and other stuff." And there you have it. Here in The D.R., zapotes are used as juice or flavoring in smoothies or ice cream. I will have to taste one of these items to see if I enjoy it more than in its natural fruit form.


And here it is, jugo de zapote(zapote juice)! It has a nice pink color.


The flavor is also good. It tastes more like watermelon in juice form. But the juice is a little thick or creamy and rich for me to drink very much. A half of the glass was plenty for me.